Jewelry assembly

ABSTRACT

A plurality of lower complementary stones is arranged along a linear or an arcuate row below an upper stone to enhance the appearance thereof in an item of jewelry such as a ring. The row extends generally widthwise of a shank of the ring.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention generally relates to jewelry such as ringsor pendants and, more particularly, to an enhanced setting in which aplurality of cut and polished stones, especially diamonds, is mounted.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] It is conventional to set a diamond or other precious orsemi-precious stone on a jewelry item such as a ring by using aplurality of prongs to hold the diamond or other main stone such thatthe table, i.e., the flat upper surface of the main stone, is visiblefrom the top or front of the ring when worn. In order to enhance theappearance of the main stone, it is known in the art to mountcomplementary stones on the ring or on the setting for the main stone.Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,440 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,868,008 disclose asingle complementary stone underneath the main stone. U.S. Pat. No.4,936,115; U.S. Pat. No. 6,012,302; U.S. Design Patent No. D-315,698 andU.S. Design Patent No. D-412,681 disclose the use of a plurality ofcomplementary stones at the sides of and below the main stone. U.S.Design Patent No. D-393,227 discloses the use of a plurality ofcomplementary stones arranged circumferentially along the annular shankof a ring below the main stone.

[0005] As attractive and advantageous as these known settings andassemblies are for use as jewelry or decoration, it would be desirableto improve the amount of light directed by the complementary stones intothe main stone as viewed from the front of the main stone. It would befurther desirable if the complementary stones themselves are directlyvisible, or at least partly visible, from the front of the jewelry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

[0006] Accordingly, it is a general object of this invention to enhancethe appearance of a main stone mounted on a jewelry item.

FEATURES OF THE INVENTION

[0007] In keeping with the above object and others which will becomeapparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides,briefly stated, in a jewelry assembly which comprises a supportextending in a circumferential direction at least partly about a supportaxis, and a setting including a base mounted on the support, an upperstone mounted at an elevation above the base, and a plurality of lowercomplementary stones mounted on the base, at least one of the lowerstones being overlaid by the upper stone.

[0008] In accordance with a first embodiment of this invention, thelower stones are arranged in a row extending in a circumferentialdirection at least partly about a setting axis perpendicular to thesupport axis. More particularly, the base includes arcuate wall portionsbounding an arcuate channel in which the lower stones are held. Thelower stones have individual axes of symmetry which intersect oneanother at a common point. The lower stones are cut and polished andhave individual tables lying in planes which intersect one another.

[0009] Hence, according to the first embodiment, in the case wherein thesupport is an annular shank of a ring having a width dimension thatextends along the support axis, the lower stones are arranged in a rowthat extends widthwise of the shank in a “saddle-type” setting that sitsastride the shank. The tables of the lower stones face at least partlytoward the front to improve the appearance of the setting and toincrease the amount of light collected, reflected and refracted backtoward a viewer.

[0010] In accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, thelower stones are arranged in a linear row that extends generallywidthwise of the shank of the ring. The lower stones have individualaxes of symmetry parallel to one another. The individual tables of thestones lie in a common plane parallel to the table of the upper stone.

[0011] Each of the stones is cut and polished and is a precious orsemi-precious stone or gem. Preferably, diamonds are used. The inventionis best implemented in a diamond engagement ring, but is also applicablefor usage in pendants and earrings.

[0012] The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following description of specificembodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a setting on a ring shown inbroken-away view in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a top plan view of FIG. 1 with the upper stone removedfor clarity;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the setting of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

[0017]FIG. 5 is an exploded, perspective view of a ring with a settingin accordance with another embodiment of this invention;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the assembled ring of FIG. 5; and

[0019]FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the assembled ring of FIG. 6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] Reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1 generally identifies a settingincluding a base 12, a plurality of prongs 14, 16, 18, 20 extendingupwardly away from the base 12, and an upper stone 22 held by the prongsat an elevation above the base. Upper stone 22 is, as shown in FIG. 4,cut and polished with many facets and has a planar table 24, a crown 26,a pavilion 28, a vertex 30, and an axis 32 of symmetry. Upper stone 22is preferably a gemstone, such as a diamond, but could be any otherprecious or semi-precious gem.

[0021] The setting 10 can be mounted on diverse items of jewelry, forexample, a ring having an annular support or shank 34 extending at leastpartly about, and preferably completely around, a support axis 50. Asbest seen in FIG. 2, the shank 34 has a width dimension “W” extendingalong the support axis.

[0022] The base 12 is mounted on the shank 34 and includes a pair ofarcuate frame portions 36, 38 bounding a channel in which a plurality oflower complementary stones 40, 42, 44, 46 is mounted in a row extendingwidthwise of the shank 34 and in a circumferential direction at leastpartly about a setting axis 48 perpendicular to the support axis 50.Each lower stone is cut and polished and has individual axes of symmetry52, 54, 56, 58 (see FIG. 4) intersecting one another. The stones haveindividual tables lying in intersecting planes. Each lower stone ispreferably a gemstone, such as a diamond, but could be any otherprecious or semi-precious gem.

[0023] In accordance with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4, the appearance ofthe upper stone 22 is enhanced by the lower stones 40, 42, 44, 46 whichare arranged in a “saddle-type” base which sits widthwise astride theshank 34. The tables of the lower stones face at least partly upwardlytoward the table 24 of the upper stone and in a curved path by which thelower stones collect, reflect and refract more light into and throughthe upper stone.

[0024] The lower stones can be set in the base by any of several settingtechniques, such as channel setting, nick setting, prong setting, pavesetting and burnishing. The size and number of the lower stones isadjustable. The setting 10 can be assembled as a discrete unit and canthereafter be mounted in a separate step on the shank. When productionwarrants, the setting can be pre-attached to the ring during casting orstamping.

[0025] The upper stone need not be a round center diamond asillustrated, but could be a square-shaped, rectangular-shaped,oval-shaped, or cushion-shaped, center stone. The upper stone need notbe held by four single prongs as illustrated, but could be fourdouble-prongs, four triple-prongs, half-bezel prongs, less thanhalf-bezel prongs, v-shaped prongs, or fishtail prongs.

[0026] In the embodiment of FIGS. 5-7, the upper stone 60 is a marquiseand is a pointed oval, rather than the round stone 22 of FIG. 1. Theupper stone 60 is held by a pair of prongs 62, 64, rather than the fourprongs of FIG. 1. A plurality of lower complementary stones, including agroup of lower stones 66, 68, 70 is arranged in a row extendingtransversely and linearly across the width of an annular shank 72 of aring 74. The shank 72 extends around a support axis 76. the linear rowof the lower stones can extend along the support axis 76, or, as shownin FIG. 6, can extend at an angle relative to the support axis.

[0027] For enhanced appearance, the group of lower stones 66, 68, 70 caninclude additional groups of stones 78 extending along arcuate paths onaxial ends of the shank, and further groups of stones 80, 82 extendingcircumferentially of the shank at opposite sides of the upper stone.

[0028] The lower stones 66, 68, 70 are overlaid by the upper stone 60,have individual axes of symmetry which are parallel to one another, andhave individual tables lying in a common plane that is parallel to thetable of the upper stone 60. The lower stones 66, 68, 70 collect,reflect and refract light into and through the upper stone for anenhanced appearance.

[0029] It will be understood that each of the elements described above,or two or more together, also may find a useful application in othertypes of constructions differing from the types described above.

[0030] While the invention has been illustrated and described asembodied in a jewelry assembly, it is not intended to be limited to thedetails shown, since various modifications and structural changes may bemade without departing in any way from the spirit of the presentinvention.

[0031] Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal thegist of the present invention that others can, by applying currentknowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omittingfeatures that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constituteessential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of thisinvention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

[0032] What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by LettersPatent is set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. A jewelry assembly, comprising: a) a support extending in acircumferential direction at least partly about a support axis; and b) asetting including a base mounted on the support, and upper stone mountedat an elevation above the base, and a plurality of lower complementarystones mounted on the base in a row extending in a circumferentialdirection at least partly about a setting axis perpendicular to thesupport axis, at least one of the lower stones being overlaid by theupper stone.
 2. The jewelry assembly of claim 1, wherein the support isan annular shank of a ring, and wherein the setting includes a pluralityof prongs extending away from the base and holding the upper stoneelevated above the base.
 3. The jewelry assembly of claim 1, wherein thebase includes arcuate wall portions bounding an arcuate channel in whichthe lower stones are held.
 4. The jewelry assembly of claim 3, whereinthe lower stones have individual axes of symmetry which intersect oneanother at a common point.
 5. The jewelry assembly of claim 4, whereinthe lower stones have individual tables lying in planes which intersectone another.
 6. The jewelry assembly of claim 1, wherein each of thelower stones and the upper stone is a diamond.
 7. A jewelry assembly,comprising: a) a support extending in a circumferential direction atleast partly about a support axis; and b) a setting including an upperstone mounted at an elevation above the support, and a plurality oflower complementary stones mounted on the support in a row extendingtransversely of the support axis, at least one of the lower stones beingoverlaid by the upper stone, the lower stones having individual axes ofsymmetry which are parallel to one another.
 8. The jewelry assembly ofclaim 7, wherein the support is an annular shank of a ring, and whereinthe setting includes a plurality of prongs extending away from thesupport and holding the upper stone elevated above the support.
 9. Thejewelry assembly of claim 7, wherein the support includes wall portionsbounding a linear channel in which the lower stones are held.
 10. Thejewelry assembly of claim 7, wherein the lower stones have individualtables lying in a common plane.
 11. The jewelry assembly of claim 7,wherein each of the lower stones and the upper stone is a diamond.